Linking Diversity and Civic-Minded Practices with Student Outcomes: New Evidence from National Surveys

Y

10

Higher Education; College Faculty; Evidence; Outcomes of Education; Student Participation; Social Responsibility; Institutional Research; National Surveys; College Students; Lifelong Learning; Item Response Theory

0024-1822

The conversation in higher education has shifted, moving from a focus on what students know to a focus on whether they know how to think and, more importantly, toward the goal of providing skills needed for living and working in the twenty-first century. In this article, the authors present national evidence regarding the impact of intentional diversity and civic-related practices on specific educational outcomes for students that can be used to support an institutional commitment to personal and social responsibility and integrative learning, as well as investment in intentional practices that help students achieve these outcomes. They summarize results across a series of studies conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California-Los Angeles, basing results on surveys administered as part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). CIRP surveys contain a rich set of measures that capture not only students' civic and diversity-related experiences, but also outcomes that can be linked with educationally purposeful activities coordinated by faculty and staff. They also integrate findings from the national HERI faculty survey that show how the behaviors, values, and characteristics of faculty engaged in civic-minded practice relate to parallel observations made regarding student participation in initiatives and subsequent outcomes. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables and 3 notes.)

ERIC

15

2012

EJ981325